Thousands in Louisville Area Without Electricity After Icy Weather

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Jefferson County Public Schools plan to operate on a normal schedule Thursday “barring any unforeseen circumstances.”

Update 4:44 p.m.: Oldham County Schools Closed Thursday

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Oldham County Schools will be closed Thursday, too, because of the last round of winter weather. School officials cite ice on sidewalks, parking lots and on buses. No word from JCPS yet.

Update 3:09 p.m.: Latest on Power Outages, and More

LG&E has 5,193 customers without electrical service in Louisville; it has 1,270 in Oldham County.

As noted before, LG&E has said it may not be able to get service back to some customers until Thursday evening.

Duke Energy now has 151 customers without electrical service in Floyd County, 15 in Clark County and 41 in Harrison County.

As far as weather is concerned, the National Weather Service has issued this summary of the winter weather that began Tuesday afternoon and led to Wednesday’s issues.

The weather service notes that motorists should be mindful of slick spots on untreated roads.

Update 11:53 a.m.: City Update

LG&E may not be able to restore electrical service to some customers until Thursday evening, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday morning during a news conference.

LG&E spokeswoman Natasha Collins said LG&E has already restored electricity to about half of the 35,000 total customers who lost power at the height of the storm. But, she added, wind and freezing temperatures may knock electrical service out to more customers.

“The conditions out there are tricky,” Collins said, adding that LG&E had “all hands” on getting power restored to customers.

Louisville has about 8,000 electrical customers without service; Oldham County has about 1,800, according to LG&E.

Also, Mayor Greg Fischer urged residents to be mindful of hazards from the ice, such as falling trees and tree limbs.

Update 11:07 a.m.: Roads, Power

In Louisville, the number of LG&E customers without electrical service has dropped to 8,742. In Oldham County, it’s at 1,822. Duke Energy said Clark County has 151 customers without electrical service, Floyd County has 922 and Harrison County has 276.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said state highways and interstates were “in good shape,” but some secondary roads have icy slush. They add:

In Bullitt County we have two roads closed due to downed trees, KY 1442 (Ridge Road) and KY 1494 (Beech Grove Road). In Franklin County, we have two roads with high water, KY 1784 (Old Glenns Creek Road) and KY 1900 (Peaks Mill Road).

Update 10:06 a.m.: 11,000 Without Power in Louisville

Jefferson County still has about 11,000 electrical customers without power, according to LG&E. It’s close to 2,000 in Oldham County.

LG&E is working on restoring service.

Duke Energy said about 1,400 are without electrical service in Floyd County, 564 in Clark County and and 275 in Harrison County.

There have been reports of trees and limbs down throughout the Louisville area.

Update 9:15 a.m.: Latest on Power Outages

Customers without electrical service, via LG&E:

Jefferson County: 15,506

Oldham County: 2,491

Via Duke Energy:

Clark County: 561

Floyd County: 1,084

Harrison County: 219

You can track Southern Indiana’s situation here and the Kentucky situation here.

Update 8:17 a.m.: More Power Outages

LG&E has 16,434 customers without electrical service now, a bit of a spike from earlier. They say they’ll work “24/7″ to get everyone restored. Oldham County has 3,310 customers without service.

In Southern Indiana, Duke Energy is reporting 1,430 without electrical service in Floyd County, 217 in Harrison and 491 in Clark.

Update 7:22 a.m.: Power Outages Update

LG&E has 10,842 customers without electrical service in Jefferson County and 3,594 in Oldham County. Duke Energy is reporting about the same as an hour ago for Floyd, Clark and Harrison counties.

Update 6:30 a.m.: Power Outages

At 6:22 a.m., 11,229 Louisville LG&E customers were without service. It’s 2,480 in Oldham County. In Southern Indiana, Duke Energy said Floyd County had 1,231 customers without service in Floyd County, 628 without service in Clark County, and a couple hundred without service in Harrison County.

Update 6:01 a.m.: Higher Ed

Several Louisville area colleges are adjusting schedules because of the weather.

The National Weather Service also issued a travel advisory Wednesday for Louisville and surrounding areas. It cautions that drizzle falling Wednesday morning may freeze, causing slick roads on top of whatever slick roads were left from Tuesday night.

The weather service is urging motorists to be cautious while traveling Wednesday morning.

Earlier: Jefferson County Public Schools and other school districts are closed Wednesday because of road conditions.

Sleet and freezing rain moved into the Louisville area Tuesday afternoon, causing hazardous driving during the end-of-day commute. Here’s more from Tuesday. On Wednesday, a MetroSafe supervisor said roads were slick and slushy and trees were down throughout Louisville.

JCPS and several other Louisville area school districts dismissed classes early as the winter weather approached. Many Louisville area school districts, including JCPS, were closed Monday after five inches or more of snow fell on the region.

The weather overnight into Wednesday morning had caused about 9,100 Louisville electrical customers to lose power, according to LG&E.

This is the seventh time JCPS has closed during the 2013-14 academic year because of weather.

The National Weather Service forecasts a chance of freezing rain or snow before 10 a.m. and then a slight chance of snow from then to 4 p.m. The high temperature Wednesday is forecast to be 30 degrees (though it’s 33 degrees at about 5 a.m.)